When a coed falls prey to a sadistic murderer, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Caitlin "Caity" Cassidy and Special Agent Atticus Spenser are called in to testify—one for the defense, one for the prosecution. With warring approaches to justice, these two rivals have been butting heads for years—both inside the courtroom and out. And at first, this case appears to be no different.
But when a brutal attack leaves the accused man dead and Caity in critical condition, petty differences take a backseat to saving lives. As the lone survivor, Caity knows too much, and the killer—a madman calling himself the Man in the Maze—is coming back for round two. Now Caity and Spense must join forces to uncover the killer's identity before Caity's time—and luck—runs out.

I tried. Really did. Took it up, put it down, and took it up again and nearly gave up.

Apart from the very excellent beginning, I thought ‘Judgement’ devolved into a crime mystery bogged down by red herrings, narrative-merry-go-rounds and wooden chemistry that was mostly put to a halt by a heroine whose single-minded determination became odious stubbornness and hypocrisy somewhere along the way – an irony considering her profession as a profiler. Romance plays a very small hand in the story in fact; the pining comes mostly from the hero, who typically backs away in fear of aggravating the heroine’s overly sensitive disposition. It was with much grimacing and rolling of eyes that I finally made it to last page, but the twist wasn’t unexpected by that point, capped off by an end that was nearly as flat as the middle.

When a coed falls prey to a sadistic murderer, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Caitlin "Caity" Cassidy and Special Agent Atticus Spenser are called in to testify—one for the defense, one for the prosecution. With warring approaches to justice, these two rivals have been butting heads for years—both inside the courtroom and out. And at first, this case appears to be no different.
But when a brutal attack leaves the accused man dead and Caity in critical condition, petty differences take a backseat to saving lives. As the lone survivor, Caity knows too much, and the killer—a madman calling himself the Man in the Maze—is coming back for round two. Now Caity and Spense must join forces to uncover the killer's identity before Caity's time—and luck—runs out.

I tried. Really did. Took it up, put it down, and took it up again and nearly gave up.

Apart from the very excellent beginning, I thought ‘Judgement’ devolved into a crime mystery bogged down by red herrings, narrative-merry-go-rounds and wooden chemistry that was mostly put to a halt by a heroine whose single-minded determination became odious stubbornness and hypocrisy somewhere along the way – an irony considering her profession as a profiler. Romance plays a very small hand in the story in fact; the pining comes mostly from the hero, who typically backs away in fear of aggravating the heroine’s overly sensitive disposition. It was with much grimacing and rolling of eyes that I finally made it to last page, but the twist wasn’t unexpected by that point, capped off by an end that was nearly as flat as the middle.